84-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 11 1998
On Being a
Farm Wife
(and other
hazards)
Joyce Bupp
Sometimes, life makes no
sense.
On a farm, lots of things
make scents.
"I smell chicken 'poop'
claimed grandson Josh last
week, as Grandpa Farmer
arrived in the kitchen fresh from
a stint at the dairy barn and
morning feeding chores.
Chicken "poop" dried and
bagged is what our 3 year-old
grandson is accustomed to his
dad buying for the backyard gar
den at their suburban Portland,
Ore. home. So all ammal/barn
yard odors get that label.
Actually it wasn't chicken
residue, but the Eau de Cow fra
grance wafting in the air behind
Grandpa Farmer as he
scrounged around the kitchen
for a mid-morning snack. The
two farmers were headed off
together on some pressing farm
chore and needed food fortifica
tion for the trip
A farm would not be a farm
without the accompanying
scents of crops and animal pro
duction Some of those fra
grances are pure aesthetically
"country" freshly-plowed
ground, new-mown hay, a mow
of shiny, new straw and the
carmel-corn scent of just
opened, molasses-laced, calf
feed And, because food produc
tion without them is impossible,
there are the more "earthy"
scents such as animal manures
and curing silages
But, at the moment, the most
pungent fragrance around the
farm is one over which only
Mother Nature has any control
We first crossed paths with it
one evening about two weeks
ago, after lingering at the pond
until dusk to feed the geese and
watch the fish jump at bugs.
Sitting on the pier in the falling
darkness, someone spied move
ment a few yards away in the
meadow toward the house.
"Is that a cat running over
their in the grass 9" was the
question. Night was coming so
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quickly that only a sort of dark
blur was visible.
Then came another guess,
based on some streaks of white
mixed in with the dark moving
blob of shadow, which was by
'then beginning to stretch into a
couple of blobs.
"That almost looks like
skunks."
We grabbed the kids and
began trailing the blurry
parade, which by then had
become obvious as a family of
mother and several baby
skunks, number uncertain. Our
trailing was kept to a consider
able and safe distance, consider
ing we had a baby and a 3-year
old in tow.
But, in moments, the largest
blur made an abrupt about-face
and headed back in our direc
tion Obviously one mother
skunk was not impressed with
our even long-distance interest
in her fascinating, night-forag
ing, family. We beat a VERY
hasty retreat, though we were
Stillwell out of range of guided
missile skunk scent.
When it comes to skunks, one
can't be too careful.
Grandma made a reconnais
sance to the house with kids.
Grandpa and daughter snagged
a flashlight to try to get a better
look at the little family, but were
unable to find them. Still, they
had to have headed up around
the barns and buildings, proba
bly to forage for grubs around
the cattle lots.
A little later, I retreated to
the back porch with the phone to
return a business call, enjovmg
the balmy night and a bit mo e
quiet to conduct the conversa
tion Midway through the phone
visit, The Farmer burst onto the
porch at the same instant I
detected the oder. .
"Skunk!" we exclaimed in
unison.
Again, he grabbed the flash
light, shining it about the yard
and what was visible of the
farmstead. Nothing.
All settled back down. But in
less than five minutes, a large,
shaggy, white shape came trot
ting under the barn nightlight
—summit, the Great Pyrness
dog owned by our son.
Does she make her rounds of
the farm every night? Because,
we've been treated to bedtime
skunk scent for several consecu
tive nights at the same time.
And, if so, how long will it go
until ?
My offer to contribute toma
toes for an anti-skunk-scent dog
bath hasn't been needed. Yet.
Mother Nature may think
skunks make good scents.
But if your large, shaggy dog
turns up at the back door reek
ing of it, skunk perfume makes
no sense at all.
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SEE YOUR NEAREST DEALER FOR DETAILS
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Operation
Staff from the Southcentral
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Department of Health will con
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the Antique Machinery and
Tractor show to be held by the
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Check
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